| Small Game Articles |
John N. Felsher's Rabbit Hunting Adventures
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“Be vewwy, vewwy kwiet; we’re huntin’ wabbits,” said that icon of hunting,
Elmer Fudd.
However, ol’ Elmer, despite enjoying folklore status as one of the best
known nimrods this country ever produced, never bagged his bunny. Of
course, very few rabbit hunters ever go head to head against a talking
rabbit with a Bronx accent who walks upright and can pull anything from his
pocket.
Most rabbit hunters use trained beagles to flush bunnies from
impenetrable thickets. However, not everyone can afford to feed, house
and maintain a pack of beagles or even wants to go through that much
trouble. Although difficult, hunters can still bag bunnies without dogs if they
make considerable effort and, contrary to Fudd’s Fundamentals, a little
noise!
“When walking them up, we have to go to their houses and wake them
up,” said Alvin Topham of Lake Charles, La. “Look for places that have a
lot of cover, but where people can still see to shoot.”
To bag bunnies, hunters must first find them. Rabbits never stray far
from their favorite protective cover or such foods as clovers, blackberry,
dewberry, greenbrier or honeysuckle. Look for sign. When feeding,
rabbits make distinctively neat 45-degree cuts on plant stems to distinguish
them from the jagged bites of deer and other herbivores. This, and
scattered round droppings, leave ample evidence that rabbits inhabit an
area.
In an area with plentiful rabbits, sportsmen can work in teams. They
walk line abreast across a field of likely cover, each kicking every clump or
bush they encounter. They jump on fallen trees, which provide excellent
cover for hiding bunnies.
Sometimes, a person might carry a stick to poke around in grass clumps
while others watch with ready shotguns. A light short-barreled 20-gauge
pump or semi-automatic makes a great bunny buster.
When a rabbit bolts from cover, shooters must react fast and throw a lot
of lead in the direction of the bounding bunny. It doesn’t take much shot to
bring down a rabbit, but it takes significant skill or luck to hit one. Use open
choke shotguns loaded with No. 6 to 8 lead shot.
Shots in heavy brush typically occur within about 20 to 25 yards or less.
While hunters might see dozens of rabbits, most won’t offer shots and few
offer second shots. One or two hops from those powerful hind legs and
they disappear into heavy brush quickly.
When hunting heavy brush, teams of hunters must communicate. They
should wear orange to keep each other in sight. In the rush of the moment
when a rabbit hops into the open, hunters need to know if they can safely
shoot in that direction. People should never fire unless they can positively
identify a target and anything in the line of fire beyond a target.
Without dogs, look for areas that limit where a rabbit can run to escape.
Levees or ridges bordering canals or flooded rice fields or other wet spots
make excellent places to kick up a few rabbits. Some waterways offer a thin
strip of high, firm ground that can support abundant bunnies. Providing the
only high ground surrounded by water, levees, ridges and spoil banks may
congregate rabbits in huge numbers.
“Walk the levees kicking brush clumps,” said Shawn Knapp of DeQuincy,
La. “People can kill just as many rabbits by walking levees in rice fields as
they can with a herd of dogs. If the fields are wet, rabbits will be on the dry
grass. In those thick levees, we kill a lot of them.”
Limited room to maneuver on a constricted levee or spoil bank allows
hunters to concentrate on areas that might provide the best shooting.
Frequently, if someone kicks up a rabbit on a narrow ridge, the hunter
might flush the same rabbit a few feet farther down the ridge because it
cannot run to the side.
Jumped rabbits sometimes circle back to their original locations. They
don’t like to leave familiar home territories for very long. In their home
thicket, they know several holes or escape routes where they can vanish
quickly as danger approaches. After jumping a rabbit, pause a while to see
if it circles back and presents a shot.
A new clear-cut or recently burned forest with new green sprouts makes
an excellent place to look for cottontails. Fires or clear-cuts reduce the
amount of cover available, forcing rabbits to congregate in what cover
remains. Often, a brush fire leaves a few clumps that might hold several
rabbits each. Rabbits fleeing from isolated cover must cross open ground.
“Rabbits hang around the thickest clumps,” Topham said. “One person
gets a stick in one hand and beats the clumps while the others look for
escaping rabbits. The person with the stick can also get a shot if he’s
quick. There might be three or four rabbits in one clump of grass.”
Rabbits also like to nibble on new shoots that spring up after a fire or a
clear-cut. In the evening, they sometimes emerge from thick cover to gorge
on sprouts. People walking slowly along a path might keep an eye out for
ears, tails or eyes, which stick out more than camouflaged fur.
“Late in the evening, they come out of cover and eat short grass along
roads or paths,” Topham said. “Roadbeds have lots of calcium. Rabbits
like to eat vegetation that grows near a calcium supply.”
For a really challenging rabbit hunt, use a scoped .22 rifle and sit in a
deer stand one afternoon. Rabbits often emerge to eat in food plots
created for deer.
“When I’m on a deer stand, I see a lot of rabbits coming out on the food
plots,” Knapp said. “We sit in the stands and watch them. We plant oats
and they eat it. We could also walk them up by kicking the cover at the
edges of food plots. Rabbits like to pen up in old tree tops or brier
patches. Approach the treetop and kick it. Sometimes, a rabbit will run out.”
Elmer Fudd.
However, ol’ Elmer, despite enjoying folklore status as one of the best
known nimrods this country ever produced, never bagged his bunny. Of
course, very few rabbit hunters ever go head to head against a talking
rabbit with a Bronx accent who walks upright and can pull anything from his
pocket.
Most rabbit hunters use trained beagles to flush bunnies from
impenetrable thickets. However, not everyone can afford to feed, house
and maintain a pack of beagles or even wants to go through that much
trouble. Although difficult, hunters can still bag bunnies without dogs if they
make considerable effort and, contrary to Fudd’s Fundamentals, a little
noise!
“When walking them up, we have to go to their houses and wake them
up,” said Alvin Topham of Lake Charles, La. “Look for places that have a
lot of cover, but where people can still see to shoot.”
To bag bunnies, hunters must first find them. Rabbits never stray far
from their favorite protective cover or such foods as clovers, blackberry,
dewberry, greenbrier or honeysuckle. Look for sign. When feeding,
rabbits make distinctively neat 45-degree cuts on plant stems to distinguish
them from the jagged bites of deer and other herbivores. This, and
scattered round droppings, leave ample evidence that rabbits inhabit an
area.
In an area with plentiful rabbits, sportsmen can work in teams. They
walk line abreast across a field of likely cover, each kicking every clump or
bush they encounter. They jump on fallen trees, which provide excellent
cover for hiding bunnies.
Sometimes, a person might carry a stick to poke around in grass clumps
while others watch with ready shotguns. A light short-barreled 20-gauge
pump or semi-automatic makes a great bunny buster.
When a rabbit bolts from cover, shooters must react fast and throw a lot
of lead in the direction of the bounding bunny. It doesn’t take much shot to
bring down a rabbit, but it takes significant skill or luck to hit one. Use open
choke shotguns loaded with No. 6 to 8 lead shot.
Shots in heavy brush typically occur within about 20 to 25 yards or less.
While hunters might see dozens of rabbits, most won’t offer shots and few
offer second shots. One or two hops from those powerful hind legs and
they disappear into heavy brush quickly.
When hunting heavy brush, teams of hunters must communicate. They
should wear orange to keep each other in sight. In the rush of the moment
when a rabbit hops into the open, hunters need to know if they can safely
shoot in that direction. People should never fire unless they can positively
identify a target and anything in the line of fire beyond a target.
Without dogs, look for areas that limit where a rabbit can run to escape.
Levees or ridges bordering canals or flooded rice fields or other wet spots
make excellent places to kick up a few rabbits. Some waterways offer a thin
strip of high, firm ground that can support abundant bunnies. Providing the
only high ground surrounded by water, levees, ridges and spoil banks may
congregate rabbits in huge numbers.
“Walk the levees kicking brush clumps,” said Shawn Knapp of DeQuincy,
La. “People can kill just as many rabbits by walking levees in rice fields as
they can with a herd of dogs. If the fields are wet, rabbits will be on the dry
grass. In those thick levees, we kill a lot of them.”
Limited room to maneuver on a constricted levee or spoil bank allows
hunters to concentrate on areas that might provide the best shooting.
Frequently, if someone kicks up a rabbit on a narrow ridge, the hunter
might flush the same rabbit a few feet farther down the ridge because it
cannot run to the side.
Jumped rabbits sometimes circle back to their original locations. They
don’t like to leave familiar home territories for very long. In their home
thicket, they know several holes or escape routes where they can vanish
quickly as danger approaches. After jumping a rabbit, pause a while to see
if it circles back and presents a shot.
A new clear-cut or recently burned forest with new green sprouts makes
an excellent place to look for cottontails. Fires or clear-cuts reduce the
amount of cover available, forcing rabbits to congregate in what cover
remains. Often, a brush fire leaves a few clumps that might hold several
rabbits each. Rabbits fleeing from isolated cover must cross open ground.
“Rabbits hang around the thickest clumps,” Topham said. “One person
gets a stick in one hand and beats the clumps while the others look for
escaping rabbits. The person with the stick can also get a shot if he’s
quick. There might be three or four rabbits in one clump of grass.”
Rabbits also like to nibble on new shoots that spring up after a fire or a
clear-cut. In the evening, they sometimes emerge from thick cover to gorge
on sprouts. People walking slowly along a path might keep an eye out for
ears, tails or eyes, which stick out more than camouflaged fur.
“Late in the evening, they come out of cover and eat short grass along
roads or paths,” Topham said. “Roadbeds have lots of calcium. Rabbits
like to eat vegetation that grows near a calcium supply.”
For a really challenging rabbit hunt, use a scoped .22 rifle and sit in a
deer stand one afternoon. Rabbits often emerge to eat in food plots
created for deer.
“When I’m on a deer stand, I see a lot of rabbits coming out on the food
plots,” Knapp said. “We sit in the stands and watch them. We plant oats
and they eat it. We could also walk them up by kicking the cover at the
edges of food plots. Rabbits like to pen up in old tree tops or brier
patches. Approach the treetop and kick it. Sometimes, a rabbit will run out.”
Rabbit hunters
can kick up
cottontails
can kick up
cottontails
Steven Felsher, Daniel
Felsher and Paul Constance
beat the brush for rabbits in
Cameron Parish south of
south of Lake Charles, La.
Felsher and Paul Constance
beat the brush for rabbits in
Cameron Parish south of
south of Lake Charles, La.
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J.W. Bolton admires a rabbit
he killed near Singer, La.
he killed near Singer, La.